Shiver Me Timbers! Housing Market Charts a Course... Slightly Upward!

Avast! A Sliver of Hope!

Savvy? Yours truly Captain Jack Sparrow at the helm of this report. Now the winds of fortune have shifted... slightly. In May the sale of those 'previously loved' homes – as they call 'em – crept up a mere 0.8%. A surprise even to those landlubber housing analysts who predicted a slip. Four point oh three million homes sold. Not exactly a treasure chest but better than finding only barnacles eh?

Geographical Grog: Where the Homes Be!

The Northeast bless their salty souls saw a 4.2% surge. The Midwest and South also felt the tide lift their boats but the West? Aye there be dragons! Sales there plummeted by 5.4%. Seems even landlubbers can't afford those sky high prices. It's enough to make a pirate consider honest work… almost.

The Curse of the Mortgage Rate!

Ah the dreaded mortgage rate! A beast more fearsome than the Kraken wouldn’t you agree? Lawrence Yun some economist fellow says these high rates are keepin' folk from buyin'. Lower the rates says he and the market shall rise. 'Strong income growth healthy inventory and a record high number of jobs' – sounds like a siren's song to me! But can we trust it? As I always say 'The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.'

More Booty! (Inventory That Is)

Aha! The reason for the slight increase you ask? More houses me hearties! Up over 20% from last year. That's 1.54 million units up for grabs. But don't get too excited; at this rate that's still only a 4.6 month supply. Which means... prices are still lookin’ mighty fine to the seller.

Pricey Plunder: The Cost of a Home

Four hundred and twenty two thousand eight hundred doubloons! The median price up 1.3% from last year. A record high for May no less. Demand remains high so those sellin' are making more then they should be! Twenty eight percent of homes sold above list price arrgh! Up from last month but down a tad from last year. It's a fluctuating sea of greed out there I tell ye!

Slower Sales and Cautious Customers

Homes are taking longer to sell you hear? Twenty seven days now versus twenty four last year. And those first time buyers? Only 30% of the market. A shy bunch! But the clever ones those who pay in pure unadulterated *gold*? They're on the rise mateys. A quarter of all transactions are all cash. Smart pirates those. Remember 'Not all treasure is silver and gold mate.'